Good article from Cars Technica about our new Traffic App:

You may not have heard of INRIX, a traffic data company based in Kirkland, Washington. But if your car’s navigation system has real-time traffic data, there’s a good chance you’ve been using its services. For example, the Audi A4 and Telsa Model X we drove earlier this month get real-time traffic data from INRIX. In the BMW i3 and i8, INRIX provides the range finder service that lets you know how far you can go before needing to recharge (and where you can do that).

Today, the company is taking aim at the mighty Waze with a new smartphone app that leverages its vast crowdsourced traffic database.

Do you remember what it was like trying to navigate in days of old? Back when some of us started driving, if you didn’t want to get lost, you needed a map. (Remember them?) In 2000, then-President Clinton opened up the US’ GPS network, and consumer navigation systems started to proliferate, first as standalone devices, then as installed infotainment systems in our cars, and finally on the screens of our smartphones.

The addition of live traffic updates might have been almost as significant. Suddenly, a navigation system wasn’t just useful for finding your way on unfamiliar roads. Even on a regular commute—one you might drive five days a week, year after year—a navigation system could alert you to jams, roadwork, or hazards.

INRIX has been in on this action, offering iOS and Android traffic apps for a while now, but this latest version looks like a big upgrade in functionality. For one thing, it adds turn-by-turn navigation. “So what,” you’re probably thinking, given that the default map apps for both platforms already have this capacity. In this case, however, the navigation is informed by INRIX’s real-time traffic database, which is constantly updated via the 275 million cars and devices (worldwide, not just in the US) that are already using INRIX’s services.

Perhaps the more interesting aspect is the use of machine learning. Rather than having to manually enter favorite or frequently visited places, Traffic will keep tabs on your routine and work out for itself your frequently traveled routes, including the times of day you make those trips. Like Waze, the apps will interface with your calendar and alert you to the best time to get on the road.

And you can also plan trips based on when you need to arrive at a given destination (a feature Waze recently added for iOS, but which is yet to make it to Android). A neat touch here is a little more customization of alerts, so you can choose how much advanced notice you’re given regarding when it’s time to get on the road; the site’s traffic (using its cloud servers) will keep tabs on this and adjust the notification based on the predicted congestion.

It also takes a slightly different philosophical approach to finding you the quickest route. As anyone who uses Waze knows, these apps are always on the lookout to shave time off your route. This often means sending you through sleepy residential streets replete with speed bumps or telling you to make left turns across busy roads. INRIX takes a different approach, according to Joel Karp, INRIX’s director of product management.

“A great example of this; I just moved up from Los Angeles to Seattle (where INRIX is headquartered), and whenever I needed a route, it always took me on the major freeways, which I never drove. Because we have machine learning and we’re learning your preferred route, and because we think humans are creatures of habit who are unlikely to deviate off that route unless there’s a significant time delta—not 10 seconds, not 45 seconds, not two minutes, we think it’s six-plus minutes—we’re monitoring that route to make sure it’s the right one for you to take that day and if not, whether you know what the better route is, as opposed to just serving up any old route,” he told Ars.

We’ve only been playing with Traffic for a day or so at this point, but it feels like a credible alternative to the Google-owned Waze (even if there’s no road candy to collect nor cat avatars to choose from). If you feel like trying it out, it’s available now via Google Play and the App Store.

INRIX expands into the digital dashboard with the first open, industry-friendly, end-to-end infotainment platform

Great article by Roger Lanctot at Strategy Analytics:

Companies headquartered in Seattle, Wash., had an outsize influence in connected car launches and related announcements at CES.  From Microsoft’s head unit integration with Harman to UIEvolution’s integration of SDLink smartphone connectivity at Toyota the coffee-infused aroma of Seattle innovation was palpable.

INRIX – In the midst of engineering an aggressive re-architecting of its content and service delivery strategy as part of a run up to a long-anticipated IPO, INRIX touted recent traffic, weather, parking and fuel information wins with OEMs including Tesla, Porsche, BMW, Lexus (Europe) and Volvo (China).  The company is simultaneously positioning itself to lead the drive toward smart city system development in partnership with larger IT companies.  Announcements of additional OEM wins are anticipated.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seattle-surpasses-silicon-valley-ces-2016-roger-c-lanctot?trk=prof-post

Great summary and video of the Seattle Times Gridlock event.  Participants in The Seattle Times LiveWire forum included Jarrett Walker of Jarrett Walker and Associates, Bryan Mistele of INRIX, Mark Hallenbeck of the University of Washington and Scott Kubly of the Seattle Department of Transportation.

My answers to a gridlock Q&A by the Seattle Times:

Our region is experiencing dramatic population growth. How are we all going to get around in the Pacific Northwest 10 years from now?

There is no question that 10 years from now, the predominant mode of transportation in the Pacific Northwest and around the world will still be automobiles. This is by far the predominant mode of transportation today and is actually growing as a percentage of total trips.

With new innovations coming to the automotive industry, including autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, electric vehicles and shared vehicles (these innovations combined we call the ACES), there is increased flexibility for drivers. These innovations are making it possible to reduce the total cost of vehicles to the consumer, while at the same time increasing safety and decreasing societal burdens, such as pollution and congestion.

What role will mass transit play in our future? Are we spending too little, too much, or just the right amount on building out our system?

INRIX is the leading provider of traffic data and analytics in the world. We are a private, commercial company and do not take policy positions. But INRIX is headquartered in Kirkland, so our employees care deeply about improving mobility in the Pacific Northwest.

Most data show that bus systems tend to be cost-effective, flexible and improve overall congestion. But what we have seen with the light-rail system in our region has been disappointing. INRIX studied traffic patterns before and after the light-rail line went in, and we observed no decrease in overall congestion either on I-5 or in the related corridors.

This is not a surprise since light rail only carries about 0.23 percent of the region’s trips today. For a system that cost billions, taxpayers could do better. Sixty percent of all public transportation tax dollars in King County is spent on transit, even though projections show less than 4 percent of daily trips will be taking transit even 20 years from now.

Given the current population growth of our region, scarce budget dollars would better be spent improving and expanding roads and freeways, as well as bus service, rather than rail.

I-5 is a constant bottleneck through downtown Seattle. What’s possible in terms of fixing this problem, and would the investment be worth it?

Traffic congestion is caused by economic activity — people going to work, businesses making deliveries and freight moving through our port city to other cities around the country.

During the 2008-2009 recession, we saw a more than 30 percent reduction in congestion, but we don’t think anyone would want to see that again! Therefore, the only real solution to the problem of a growing population and increased economic activity in our region is to add road capacity, use data to make better decisions and leverage technology.

There is no doubt that new capacity can reduce congestion, but most people don’t realize that there are typically half-a-dozen key bottlenecks (such as ramps and interchanges) that would create a dramatic reduction in overall traffic in most cities if they were fixed. The data now exist to identify these bottlenecks, model the impact different alternatives would have and make better investment decisions. T

his is the only way to achieve the biggest bang for the buck. Likewise, technology such as dynamic traffic-signal timing, encouraging shared vehicles such as Uber and Lyft and encouraging autonomous vehicles in our region could also have a positive impact on overall traffic.

Bryan Mistele is president, CEO and co-founder of INRIX, a Kirkland-based traffic intelligence company.

Thrilled to now have ParkMe as part of the INRIX family: INRIX Announces Acquisition of ParkMe

• ParkMe is the best source for parking insight worldwide. ParkMe has built the largest parking database in the world that includes more than 29 million spaces in 84,184 locations spanning 3,232 cities in 64 countries.
• INRIX now offers a complete service providing drivers with the ability to find on- and off-street parking. Reserve a space, as well as pay for parking, either through a mobile app or directly from the owner’s vehicle.
• ParkMe + INRIX now as the most robust ecosystem of partners and customers from across the parking industry. INRIX and ParkMe collaborate with Bing, Audi and VW, operators like, ABM, Icon, Colonial Parking, and Multi-Park, as well as parking payment services like ParkMobile, PaybyPhone and T2 Systems, and the cities of L.A., Miami Beach, Las Vegas and Dallas

It’s clear to us at INRIX that the connected car of the future will need a variety of services: Traffic, Parking, Fuel Price information, Electric Vehicle charge station location, Road Weather and many other critical services that will help the connected driver be more safe, efficient and productive.

I firmly believe we’re now only in the first stages of the revolution that the connected car will bring.

Probably the best article I’ve read about the pros and cons of systems like Apple’s CarPlan and Android Auto on the user experiene in the vehicle:

The New York Times: With CarPlay, Apple Looks to Upend Tradition